Deer in the Headlights
by suzie2b
Summary: The Rat Patrol is assigned to a security detail.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: Thanks for the suggestion, equine02. Hope you like it.**

 **Deer in the Headlights**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **After they'd arrived at the base, Sergeant Troy told Hitch and Tully, "Moffitt and I are meeting with Major Whiting first thing in the morning, so once you get the jeeps in for service you've got until noon tomorrow to yourselves. Keep the drinking to a minimum and stay out of trouble. Make sure the jeeps are ready to go before Moffitt and I catch up with you at the mess hall after our meeting. Got it?"**

 **Hitch smiled. "Right, sarge. There'll be no trouble from us."**

 **##################**

 **Tully said quietly, "We're in trouble."**

 **Hitch slurred slightly as he said, "Only if Troy and Moffitt catch us. I'm sure they went to bed hours ago."**

" **Yeah. Since we're not sharing quarters with them, they'll probably never know we didn't keep the drinkin' to a mini … mini … they won't know we drank too much."**

 **It was late. Hitch and Tully were more than just tipsy as they staggered back to the quarters they were occupying together while they were at the base for a security detail.**

 **Tully said, "I thought you were watching the time."**

 **Hitch shrugged. "I thought you were."**

" **Well, at least we didn't get into a fight or anything."**

 **##################**

 **When the alarm clock clanged to life at 0700 hours, Tully had the urge to throw the offending device against a wall. Instead he slammed the palm of his hand down on it to stop the noise. Tully fell back on the mattress with a groan and put one arm across his face. "You awake, Hitch?"**

 **His friend's voice was muffled by the pillow he'd covered his head with when the alarm went off. "No."**

" **Light."**

" **Not if you want to live to see breakfast."**

 **Tully slowly sat up and said, "Keep your eyes covered." Then he turned on the small lamp that was on the bedside table between the two bunks. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut for a second. Then he sighed and stood up. Slowly, thinking about each step he had to take, Tully went to his pack and dug out a bottle of aspirin. He shook out two tablets and poured a glass of water from the pitcher on another table against one wall. After swallowing the pills and water, he refilled the glass and shook two more tablets into his palm. Tully put the pills and water on the bedside table within Hitch's reach. "You might wanna take these." Then he shuffled back to sit down on his bed.**

 **Hitch moved the pillow slightly to squint at what Tully had left him. "Thanks." He watched his friend begin to gather the clothes he hadn't bothered to pick up off the floor when he went to bed. "Are you going someplace?"**

" **Shower … clothes … breakfast." Tully stood up and shuffled back to his pack for clean underwear and the small bag that held his razor, toothbrush, etc. He looked back at Hitch and asked, "You comin'?"**

 **Hitch pushed the pillow aside with a sigh. "Yeah … I'll be there is a minute."**

 **##################**

 **The showers helped a little and breakfast settled their stomachs, but they would definitely need more aspirin in the near future.**

 **Hitch and Tully went to the motor pool and found that the mechanics were finished with the jeeps. They inventoried what they had and went to supply for what they needed. The jeeps would be ready to go on a moment's notice.**

 **At noon, the privates sat down at a table with Troy and Moffitt to have lunch. Tully got the aspirin from his pocket and gave two to Hitch before getting a couple for himself.**

 **Troy watched his privates for a minute with a smile that could be described as a little smug. "Late night?"**

 **Hitch swallowed the pills, squinting slightly as he said, "Why would you ask that?"**

" **Heard you two get to your quarters last night."**

 **Tully sighed as he picked up his fork. "Sorry, we sorta lost track of time."**

 **Moffitt smiled sympathetically at the still slightly hungover privates. "Jeeps ready?"**

 **Hitch nodded carefully. "Ready and waiting."**

 **Tully swallowed a bite of macaroni and asked, "So, what's this detail all about anyway? Don't they have enough security around here?"**

 **Troy looked around to make sure they had enough privacy before he said in a low voice, "Not for this. American General Townsend and British General Jackson are due here tomorrow."**

 **Hitch asked, "Wow. What's going on?"**

 **Moffitt explained, "Some sort of meeting with Major Whiting and a Colonel Nelson, who's in charge of a regiment southwest of here. We weren't given any other details."**

" **When does the colonel get here?"**

" **He arrives today with some of his own men."**

 **Troy said, "We're going to take over escort duty of the convoy that's bringing the generals and make sure they get here."**

 **Tully said, "There's an airfield about ninety kilometers from here. Wouldn't it be better to fly them in and then we could pick them up there?"**

" **Too much German antiaircraft at the moment to chance it. They flew into Benghazi and joined the convoy there. After lunch we'll head out to the wadi at Qabis. We'll meet them there."**

 **##################**

 **By the time lunch was finished and the Rat Patrol was on their way, the privates' hangovers were finally just an unpleasant memory.**

 **They arrived at the wadi at Qabis and had their camp set up just before sundown. Hitch and Tully made a dinner of canned pork and rice with some hard biscuits on the side.**

 **The night was uneventful as they took turns on watch. The moon cast an indigo and silver glow on the landscape and the yipping of a nearby pack of jackals was the only sound.**

 **Breakfast consisted of "compressed and premixed cereal" provided by the U.S. army and eaten dry. Not the best, but it did fill them up.**

 **The convoy was to be there by 1000 hours. By 0830 everything was packed and the jeeps were ready to go.**

 **About an hour later, gunfire could be heard in the distance. Tully was checking things out when Troy joined him. "What do you see?"**

 **Tully handed the binoculars to the sergeant and said, "Convoy's being harassed by a German column."**

 **After a quick look, Troy said, "We'd better get out there."**

 **As soon as the Rat Patrol arrived on scene to help, the Germans decided there were too many to fight. They turned tail and run the other way. The scattered trucks quickly joined back up and stopped to check for any damage or injury.**

 **Sergeant Tillman met with Troy and Moffitt while Hitch, Tully, and Tillman's men helped check things out. The sergeant was in charge of the six man, three car, escort detail. Tillman shook Troy's hand as he said, "Good thing you guys were waiting for us. Those Germans were being pretty persistent."**

 **Troy nodded. "Glad we could be here to help. Any other problems?"**

" **No, we were able to get around a couple of other patrols, but that one came out of nowhere."**

 **Moffitt smiled. "It happens that way at times."**

 **The leader of the convoy, Lieutenant Campbell, joined them with two other men. "Sergeant Troy?"**

 **He turned and said, "Yes, sir."**

" **General Townsend and General Jackson wanted to meet you."**

 **Troy and Moffitt were surprised to see two middle-aged men dressed as privates. General Townsend chuckled and said, "Part of our disguise. Two generals crossing the desert with a convoy should look the part."**

 **Troy smiled. "Of course, sir. Are you both all right?"**

 **General Jackson gave a nod. "Right as rain, sergeant. We just wanted to meet the men who helped us out of trouble." He looked at Tillman. "Don't get me wrong, gentlemen. Sergeant Tillman and his men did an excellent job of getting us this far, but those pesky Germans just didn't want to give up."**

 **Tillman nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you, general. I'm happy to have been of service."**

 **Troy indicated Moffitt and said, "This is my second in command. Sergeant Moffitt."**

 **Hitch arrived to report, "There are two minor injuries, sarge, and the damage to the trucks is minimal. Tully's patching up a water hose, then we can get going."**

 **Troy said, "Okay, good. I'd like you to meet Generals Townsend and Jackson." He looked at the generals. "This is one of my men. Private Hitchcock."**

 **Hitch looked at them with surprise. He had thought they were privates when he got there. He fought the urge to salute, which wasn't done in the field, as he said, "Sorry, sirs, I didn't realize who you were at first."**

 **Townsend smiled. "Perfectly all right. We're supposed to be incognito."**

 **Ten minutes later they were on their way, leaving Sergeant Tillman and his men to head back to Benghazi.**

 **Late that afternoon the convoy rolled in through the base's gates. General Townsend and General Jackson were met by Colonel Nelson and Major Whiting in front of headquarters.**

 **Troy and his men joined them and the sergeant said, "Excuse me, sir."**

 **Major Whiting asked, "What is it, Sergeant Troy?"**

" **Does the major have anything else he'd like from us?"**

 **The major smiled. "Nothing more today. I do expect you and your men to report to Lieutenant Baily tomorrow to help with security."**

 **After dropping the jeeps at the motor pool, Hitch looked at his friends and said, "Anyone up for a beer?"**

 **Tully smiled. "I'm game."**

 **Moffitt grinned and looked at Troy. "I suppose it would be best if we went along, just to make sure they don't overdo it again."**

 **##################**

 **0500 hours the next morning. Bedside alarms went off. Four men showered, dressed, and went as one for breakfast.**

 **Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully located Lieutenant Baily, who was in charge of on base security, and were given their assignments. They were to tour the base on foot, keeping an eye on things and making sure Baily's men were at their posts for each three hour rotation.**

 **It was decided that Hitch and Tully would be assigned pistols rather than carry their machine guns. Troy and Hitch took the east side of the base, and Moffitt and Tully took the west with clipboards in hand. Baily's men covered the north and south parts of the base. They stopped at each duty station, checked IDs against what was listed on the roster, and went on to the next. The teams did circuits of the base grounds to make sure there was nothing suspicious going on.**

 **The four of them met in the mess tent for lunch. They chitchatted or ate in companionable silence until Moffitt looked at his watch and said, "Well, it's noon. The changing of the guard." He looked at Tully with a smile. "Shall we go make sure all is right out there?"**

 **Moffitt and Tully checked with each duty station to make sure the correct people were where they were supposed to be. All was going well so far. The officers were having their meeting and everyone seemed to be behaving themselves.**

 **They were about half way through their second grounds tour, which took them passed the motor pool, when Tully stopped. Moffitt stopped as well, noticing the same thing the private had. Tully frowned as he said, "Aren't Jones and Perez stationed here?"**

 **Moffitt glanced at the roster and nodded. "Yes."**

 **They walked over to where the two men should've been standing guard, but they were nowhere in sight. Then Tully looked down and said, "Look, sarge, drag marks."**

 **Moffitt said, "Two sets of them I would say. Along with the prints of whoever drug them off."**

 **They followed the marks until they came to the bodies of Jones and Perez hidden behind a stack of oil drums.**

 **Tully said, "Looks like we've got a problem."**

 **Moffitt agreed, "I'd say you're right, Tully. Let's check the motor pool before we do anything else. Maybe someone saw something."**

 **They questioned the men working in the motor pool and discovered that a lone truck had arrived about twenty minutes earlier and had parked in an isolated back corner. Moffitt asked, "Where's the driver?"**

 **The two men he and Tully were questioning shrugged and one said, "Never noticed anyone get out."**

 **Moffitt looked at the truck, then said quietly to Tully, "Take these two men and go block the entrance. I'm going to check this out."**

 **As Tully and the others hurried to block the motor pool entrance with whatever they could, Moffitt approached the suspect truck with his pistol drawn. He listened for any sound that might come from the vehicle. A cautious check of the back found it packed with unmarked crates and what appeared to be detonator cord.**

 **Moffitt carefully approached the cab on the passenger side and called out, "Whoever's in there come out with your hands up!" Nothing happened, but he could hear something moving inside. "One more chance…"**

 **Suddenly the door was flung open and a shot rang out as the driver started the engine. Moffitt managed to dive out of the way of the bullet, but now the truck was headed for the exit.**

 **Everyone heard the shot as the truck careened through the motor pool. Tully was rolling one of the heavy drums over to add to the others when the speeding truck came into view. He yelled at the two guys that were helping him. One ran for cover, but the other stood there with a deer-in-the-headlights look. Without a second thought, Tully lunged forward in time to push the guy out of danger. However, there wasn't time to get himself out of the way before the truck hit him, sending him flying several yards before hitting the ground to bounce, slide, and roll to a stop.**

 **The truck barreled into the barricade, hoping to break through, but ended up high-centered on one of the drums. The two occupants tried to escape, but by then help was arriving in the form of anyone carrying a gun.**

 **The gun battle had been short and Troy and Hitch had to make sure the men in their area stayed put before going to check on the ruckus. By the time they got there, it was pretty much over. One man from the truck was dead, the other was in custody. They found Moffitt with Tully.**

 **Troy knelt down and looked at his unconscious friend. "What happened?"**

 **Moffitt explained, "Tully and I saw that two of our sentries were missing. We found their bodies behind some oil drums. Then we discovered a suspicious truck had arrived. I had Tully and two others block any escape route while I checked out the truck. It's chock–full of what I believe to be explosives."**

" **Hitch, check it out."**

" **It turned out that two men were hiding in the cab. They tried to get away and hit Tully in the process."**

 **Tully groaned and opened his eyes. "Everybody okay?"**

 **Moffitt put a hand on Tully's chest as he started to move. "Everyone's fine. You just lay still. I've sent for an ambulance."**

 **##################**

 **Tully was lying on an exam table in medical while a nurse cleaned and bandaged the bloody road rash he'd received on his left side, both arms, and left leg.**

 **Moffitt hovered, watching the nurse as they waited for the results of the x-rays. "Are you sure you're using enough alcohol?"**

 **Tully said, "She's a nurse, sarge. She knows what she's doin'."**

 **Finally the doctor returned and said, "It doesn't appear that anything's broken, but you're going to have some lovely bruises and be in some pain for a while. You've most likely got a concussion as well. I'd like to keep you overnight for observation."**

 **Tully said, "Nah, I'm good, doc."**

 **Moffitt shook his head. "You'll be staying right here for the night, Tully."**

" **But sarge…"**

" **No argument. That's an order. Lieutenant Baily can assign someone to take your place if necessary."**

 **Tully frowned, feigning hurt feelings. "You'd let 'em replace me just like that?"**

 **Moffitt smiled. "No one could ever replace you, Tully. I'm sure whoever it is will drive me mad before you're back."**

 **##################**

 **When Tully awoke the next morning, he found Hitch sitting next to his bunk. He smiled and said, "Mornin'. About time you woke up."**

 **Tully managed a groggy smile. "Woulda been awake sooner, but they kept making me take some little white pills every time I opened my eyes."**

" **How're you feeling?"**

" **Sore."**

 **Hitch laid a pile of neatly folded clean clothes on the bunk next to Tully. "Doc says you're free to go as soon as you feel up to it."**

 **Tully started to sit up, grimacing as he swung his legs over the side. "Let's get goin' then. I'm starvin'."**

 **Hitch grinned. "Hey, slow down and let me give you a hand."**

 **In the mess hall they joined Troy and Moffitt with their trays. Moffitt smiled as he said, "You're looking better this morning, Tully."**

 **Troy asked, "How're you doing?"**

 **Tully put hot sauce on his scrambled powdered eggs as he said, "I'm sore … movin' a little slow at the moment, but I'm okay."**

 **Hitch set two bottles on the table in front of Tully. "The doctor gave me those for you."**

 **Tully eyed the bottles suspiciously. "What are they?"**

" **Ones aspirin. The other's penicillin." Hitch shook one of the penicillin tablets into his palm and gave it to his friend. "You're supposed to take one with each meal."**

 **Tully sighed, then popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it with coffee. Then he grinned and said, "Thanks, ma."**

 **Hitch chuckled. "Smart aleck." Then he turned to Troy and Moffitt and asked, "Any news on that truck?"**

 **Troy said, "Lieutenant Baily says the driver admitted everything. German command found out about this meeting and sent them to stop it and kill Generals Townsend and Jackson, along with anyone else that was there. Luckily, Moffitt and Tully spotted the missing guards and checked things out. They were apparently waiting for the right time to ram the truck into headquarters. The explosives were rigged to go off on impact."**

 **Tully said, "A suicide mission."**

 **Hitch asked, "But if they never left the truck, who killed the guards?"**

 **Troy replied, "According to the driver the guards stopped them and started asking too many questions. When one wanted to look in the back, they killed them both using the truck as cover until the bodies were out of sight."**

 **Moffitt said, "I wonder though. Why didn't they just ram into the building when they first got here? Why hide in the motor pool and wait? Do you think they were having second thoughts?"**

 **Troy nodded. "Could be. We'll probably never know for sure." He noticed Hitch and Tully were finished eating. "Okay, we'd better get to work." They all stood up together and Troy pointed at Tully, who was a bit slower to rise then the others. "Except for you."**

 **Tully scowled. "I said I'm a little sore, not incapacitated. Just don't ask me to run a four-minute mile."**

 **Moffitt said, "The doctor wants you to take it easy for another day or two. We'll see how you're doing tomorrow. Go to your quarters and rest. We'll see you for lunch."**

 **Tully sighed. "Okay … but I'm already bored."**

 **##################**

 **The meeting between Generals Townsend and Jackson, Colonel Nelson, and Major Whiting lasted a total of five days. No one knew what it had all been about, but they looked satisfied as they said their good-byes.**

 **The Rat Patrol was assigned to escort the generals' staff car to the airfield so they could fly back to England with the meeting's results.**

 **Hitch asked, "Is it safe for them to be flying?"**

 **Moffitt replied, "It was reported that those German antiaircraft guns have left that flight path. They should be all right."**

 **Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully watched General Townsend and General Jackson board the aircraft. As it took off, Tully asked, "Where to now?"**

 **Troy slid into the jeep next to Hitch. "Back to Ras Tanura for our next assignment."**


End file.
